9404 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 33 / Wednesday, February 19, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

1The Department’s Office of Unemployment 

Insurance uses the term Unemployment 

Compensation (UC) when referring to UC benefits 

paid or UC laws, and the term Unemployment 

Insurance (UI) to refer to the UI program, 

administration, and operations. 

215(e) of the Federal Power Act for the 

purpose of directing the Electric 

Reliability Organization or the 

applicable Regional Entity to provide 

such information as is necessary to 

implement Section 215(e)(2) of the 

Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(e)(2)) 

pursuant to § 39.2 and Part 40 of this 

chapter. 

* * * * * 

§ 375.311 [Amended] 

■ 3. In § 375.311 remove paragraphs (u) 

and (v). 

[FR Doc. 2014–03432 Filed 2–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

20 CFR Part 619 

RIN 1205–AB64 

Federal-State Unemployment 

Insurance (UI) Program; Data 

Exchange Standardization as Required 

by Section 2104 of the Middle Class 

Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

2012 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, Labor. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor’s 

(Department’s) Employment and 

Training Administration (ETA) issues 

this final rule to designate in regulation 

data exchange standards, developed in 

consultation with an interagency work 

group established by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), for 

Unemployment Insurance (UI) 

administration, as required by 

amendments to Title IX of the Social 

Security Act (SSA) made by the Middle 

Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 

2012 (the Act). These regulations 

establish data exchange standards for 

three categories of information: realtime applications on the Interstate 

Connection Network (ICON); the State 

Information Data Exchange System 

(SIDES); and implementation of the 

standards identified for ICON and 

SIDES in major Information Technology 

(IT) modernization projects to upgrade 

UI Benefits and Tax systems by State 

Workforce Agencies (SWAs) using 

Federal funds. 

DATES: Effective date: The rule will take 

effect on March 21, 2014. The Office of 

Management and Budget has preapproved the information collection 

requirements contained in this rule 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act and 

has assigned them control number 

1205–0510. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gay 

M. Gilbert, Administrator, Office of 

Unemployment Insurance, U.S. 

Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Room S–4524, 

Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 

693–3029 (this is not a toll-free 

number). 

Individuals with hearing or speech 

impairments may access the telephone 

number above via TTY by calling the 

toll-free Federal Information Relay 

Service at 1–800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The preamble to this final rule is 

organized as follows: 

I. Background—provides a brief description 

of the development of the rule. 

II. Summary of the Comments—provides an 

overview of the comments received. 

III. Section-by-Section Review—summarizes 

and discusses the regulations. 

IV. Administrative Information—sets forth 

the applicable regulatory requirements. 

I. Background 

On February 22, 2012, the President 

signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and 

Job Creation Act. Section 2104 of the 

Act amends Title IX, SSA (42 U.S.C. 

1101 et seq.) by adding a new section 

911, which requires the Department to 

issue rules, developed in consultation 

with an interagency workgroup 

established by the OMB, that establish 

data exchange standards for certain 

functions related to administration of 

the UI 1 program. Before enactment of 

this requirement for data exchange 

standardization, the Department had 

been a proponent of and strong advocate 

for the use of open source technologies 

and data exchange standards in the 

development of IT systems supporting 

critical UI functions (such as ICON and 

SIDES), and of SWAs’ overall UI IT 

modernization efforts. Section 911, SSA, 

contains two major subsections, (a) and 

(b), each of which requires data 

exchange standards; these requirements 

are discussed in detail below. 

Section 911(a)(1), SSA, requires that 

the Secretary of Labor ‘‘shall, by rule, 

designate a data exchange standard for 

any category of information required 

under title III [42 U.S.C. 501 et seq.], 

title XII [42 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.], or this 

title [IX] [42 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.].’’ 42 

U.S.C. 1111(a)(1) (Emphasis added.) The 

Department explained in the Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), 

published in 78 FR 12655, Feb. 25, 

2013, that this statutory language allows 

the Department to identify any category 

of information under the specified titles, 

by rule, for which to establish a data 

exchange standard. Section 911(b)(1), 

SSA, requires that the Secretary of Labor 

‘‘shall, by rule, designate data exchange 

standards to govern the reporting 

required under [the same specified 

titles].’’ (Emphasis added.) 42 U.S.C. 

1111(b)(1). This rule establishes data 

exchange standards for information 

required under section 303(a)(1), SSA, 

that meet the requirements of both 

sections 911(a)(1) and 911(b)(1), SSA. 

Section 303(a)(1), SSA, commonly 

known as the ‘‘methods of 

administration’’ requirement, provides 

that State law, as a condition of the 

State receiving Unemployment 

Compensation (UC) administrative 

grants, must include ‘‘such methods of 

administration . . . as are found by the 

Secretary of Labor to be reasonably 

calculated to insure full payment of 

unemployment compensation when 

due.’’ The Department chose to establish 

data exchange standards for information 

required under section 303(a)(1), SSA, 

because this section is the foundational 

statutory authority for the Department’s 

guidance to States on the administration 

of the UI program, including guidance 

on program operations and reporting 

requirements. 

In the NPRM, the Department 

indicated that it did not propose 

establishing data exchange standards for 

categories of information under Titles IX 

and XII, SSA, because they provided 

fewer opportunities for establishment of 

data exchange standards that would 

benefit the UI system broadly, given that 

their focus is primarily on 

Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF) 

management issues. Title IX establishes 

the account structure for the UTF, and 

Title XII establishes the processes for 

States to obtain advances if their States’ 

accounts in the UTF are depleted. As 

discussed in more detail in the 

Comment Section below in response to 

the comment received on the NPRM, the 

Department will continue to review all 

UI reporting and determine the 

application of appropriate data 

exchange standards, where feasible. In 

this rule, the Department addresses the 

data exchange systems that are most 

immediately well-positioned to 

facilitate implementation of the data 

exchange standard. 

To meet the requirements of section 

911, SSA, the Department is designating 

in this final rule that eXtensible Markup 


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2 XML is a nonproprietary, searchable, computerreadable format, and has the capacity to be 

upgraded continually, as necessary. Interoperability 

helps information technology systems more readily 

interface to carry out shared functions and manage 

communications. 

3The use of the term ‘‘XML’’ means XML and any 

XML-based markup language(s) that defines a set of 

rules for encoding documents and/or data in a 

format that is both human-readable and machinereadable. The term ‘‘XML’’ encapsulates the 

provisions specified in newly added section 911, 

SSA. 

4 ICON applications are available in real-time and 

batch mode. States vary in the use of real-time 

applications versus the batch mode. The batch 

mode allows for processing of multiple requests at 

a scheduled time instead of immediate ‘‘real-time’’ 

processing. 

5Section 3304(a)(9)(A), (FUTA) requires, as a 

condition of the Secretary’s certification of a State 

law under FUTA, that ‘‘compensation shall not be 

denied or reduced to an individual solely because 

he files a claim in another State . . . or because he 

resides in another State . . . at the time he files a 

claim for unemployment compensation.’’ Section 

3304(a)(9)(B), FUTA, also requires as a condition of 

the Secretary’s certification that ‘‘the State shall 

participate in any arrangements for the payment of 

compensation on the basis of combining an 

individual’s wages and employment covered under 

the State law with his wages and employment 

covered under the State unemployment 

compensation law of other States. . . . ’’ 

Language (XML) 2 be the data exchange 

standard for two systems that support 

the reporting of data and information for 

two core UI administrative functions: (1) 

employer reporting of information 

requested by SWAs to support eligibility 

determinations (SIDES); and (2) the 

reporting and exchange of wage 

information among the States that also 

supports determination of eligibility for 

benefits (ICON). XML is a markup 

language that defines a set of rules for 

encoding documents in a format 

designed to structure, store and 

transport data. XML data are stored in 

plain text format that is both humanreadable and machine-readable. Use of 

XML also provides for a software- and 

hardware-independent method of 

exchanging data over incompatible 

applications or systems over the 

Internet. 

Section 911(a)(2), SSA, requires that 

the data exchange standard 

implemented in this rulemaking ‘‘to the 

extent practicable, be nonproprietary 

and interoperable.’’ Section 911(b)(2), 

SSA, also requires that the data 

exchange standards implemented in this 

rulemaking ‘‘to the extent practicable 

incorporate a widely accepted, 

nonproprietary, searchable, computerreadable format,’’ and ‘‘be capable of 

being continually upgraded as 

necessary.’’ Section 911(b)(3), SSA, 

specifically requires that this rule, ‘‘to 

the extent practicable, incorporate 

existing nonproprietary standards, such 

as the eXtensible Markup Language.’’ 

The data exchange standards 

established in these regulations mandate 

the use of XML to meet the 

requirements of sections 911(a) and (b), 

SSA. 

XML 3 provides an interoperable 

standard framework using common 

computer languages and standard 

formats and protocols to manage certain 

functions or communications. Gaining 

interoperability among the Department 

and 53 States and territories with 

different IT infrastructure and different 

program parameters (State UI programs 

have differing eligibility requirements 

and processes for supporting those 

requirements) is challenging. Therefore, 

the Department focused these 

regulations on core functions and 

reporting requirements that are truly 

common among the States. 

Finally, section 911(a)(3)(A), SSA, 

requires that for data exchange reporting 

standards, the rule, to the extent 

practicable, incorporate interoperable 

standards developed and maintained by 

an international voluntary consensus 

standards body. The XML standard 

herein designated meets this 

requirement as it is recognized by the 

World Wide Web Consortium, an 

international voluntary consensus 

standards body. The rule also meets the 

requirement of incorporating standards 

developed and maintained by 

intergovernmental partnerships like the 

National Informational Exchange Model 

(NIEM) referenced in section 

911(a)(3)(B), SSA. XML is a data 

exchange standard recognized by NIEM. 

The standard to be considered under 

Section 911(a)(3)(C), SSA, requires 

incorporation, to the extent practicable, 

of ‘‘interoperable standards developed 

and maintained by Federal entities with 

authority over contracting and financial 

assistance, such as the Federal 

Acquisition Regulations Council.’’ This 

requirement applies to contracting and 

procurement processes and is not 

applicable to UI processes. 

In accordance with these provisions, 

this final rule implements the following 

data exchange standards: 

• Under section 911(a), SSA, the 

Department designates XML as the data 

exchange standard for the real-time 

applications 4 of ICON; 

• Under section 911(a), SSA, the 

Department designates XML as the 

standard for the SIDES data exchange 

modules; 

• Under section 911(b), SSA, the 

Department designates XML as the data 

exchange standard to govern reporting 

of information shared through SIDES; 

and 

• Under section 911(a), SSA, the 

Department designates XML as the data 

exchange standard for real-time 

applications of ICON and SIDES data 

exchange modules in association with 

major IT modernization projects using 

Federal funds. 

By publishing this final rule, the 

Department does not foreclose the 

possibility of later establishing 

additional data exchange standards by 

regulation, as technological and other 

advances make it feasible and 

appropriate. The Department will 

explore on an ongoing basis other 

functions where data exchange 

standards would be valuable to the UI 

program and as it relates to shared data 

exchange with other Federal agencies. 

ICON 

ICON is used to implement sections 

3304(a)(9)(A) and (B) of the Federal 

Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), 

providing for interstate and combinedwage claims.5 ICON enables States to 

request, submit, and receive much of the 

information necessary to establish 

claims (as identified below) and 

determine eligibility. The requirement 

to pay UC ‘‘when due’’ under section 

303(a)(1), SSA, includes the timeliness 

of these payments. Interstate and 

combined wage claims are more 

complex to administer since they 

require communication and 

transmission of information between 

States or between a State and a Federal 

agency. To ensure that these claims are 

paid ‘‘when due,’’ the Department 

supports development and maintenance 

of ICON. ICON is a secure multipurpose telecommunications network 

that supports the transfer of data among 

the SWAs needed for critical program 

functions, including: 

• Interstate Benefits/Combined-Wage 

Claims; 

• Unemployment Compensation for 

Federal Civilian Employees and 

Unemployment Compensation for ExServicemembers programs; 

• The Wage Record Interchange 

System, which allows SWAs to obtain 

wage data for program performance 

purposes of individuals who have 

participated in workforce investment 

programs in SWAs; 

• The UI Inquiry data exchange with 

the Social Security Administration 

(Social Security) that enables SWAs to 

validate Social Security Numbers 

(SSNs) with Social Security; and 

• The Health Coverage Tax Credit 

that enables a SWA to transmit 

information to the Internal Revenue 

Service about individuals eligible for 

help paying for their health insurance 

coverage. 


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6A definition for NASWA was included in the 

NPRM as part of the proposed rule. Since this term 

is not included in this regulation, the proposed 

definition has been deleted in this final rule. This 

deletion of the definition of NASWA is the only 

change made to the final rule when compared to the 

proposed rule in the NPRM. 

The Department establishes in this 

final rule that XML be used as the data 

exchange standard under section 911(a), 

SSA, for a subset of these functions due 

to both State and ICON capacity to 

adopt standards for some of these 

functions at this time. In relation to 

these chosen functions, ICON currently 

supports the following applications in 

real-time allowing for States to use XML 

standards for these functions. These are 

applications currently used by some 

SWAs to support the processing of all 

UC claims: 

• Interstate Wages and Benefits 

Inquiries/Responses, which supports 

online transmission of interstate wages 

and benefits inquiries and responses 

between SWAs; 

• Withdrawn/Invalid Claims, which 

allows for the posting and viewing of 

withdrawn or invalid claim information 

for SWAs; and 

• State Identification Inquiry, which 

allows SWAs to inquire about wages 

reported to other SWAs by SSN. 

Currently, seven SWAs are involved 

in modernizing some of their ICON 

applications and it is not practical to 

require all States to comply with this 

standard immediately. In this final rule, 

the Department requires that all SWAs 

using real-time ICON applications 

comply with the XML data exchange 

standard no later than September 30, 

2018. A SWA may request an extension 

of the September 2018 deadline if it 

demonstrates that resources are not 

available to meet this requirement. 

These requests must be submitted in 

writing to the Administrator of the 

Office of Unemployment Insurance no 

later than 6 months before the deadline; 

requests will be reviewed and decided 

within 30 days. 

SIDES 

SIDES is necessary to effectuate the 

Standard for Claim Determinations— 

Separation Information, codified in 

regulation at 20 CFR Part 625 Appendix 

B. This standard is based significantly 

on the ‘‘methods of administration’’ 

requirement in section 303(a)(1), SSA, 

and includes a requirement that a State 

promptly obtain information from the 

worker, employer, or other source that 

is sufficient to reasonably insure 

payment of UC when due. For this 

reason, the Department supports 

development and maintenance of 

SIDES, which enables States to 

exchange information with employers 

electronically, thereby markedly 

improving the timeliness and accuracy 

of the employer-provided information 

about the reasons individuals separated 

from employment. 

SIDES is an automated information 

exchange and reporting system to 

standardize SWAs’ delivery of 

information to employers and collection 

of information by SWAs from employers 

and third-party administrators (TPAs). 

In FY 2010, the first format of SIDES for 

exchange of employee separation 

information was implemented. This 

exchange of information with employers 

or their TPAs on the circumstances 

underlying individual UC claimants’ job 

separations will reduce UC payments to 

ineligible claimants, yield 

administrative cost savings to both 

employers and taxpayers, and promote 

more timely benefit determinations. 

Currently, 36 SWAs and three TPAs are 

participating in the SIDES effort. In FY 

2011, the SIDES earnings verification 

module was implemented. The addition 

of the earnings verification exchange 

allows SWAs and employers to more 

quickly and accurately verify when UC 

claimants return to work, thus reducing 

the leading cause of UC overpayments: 

claimants’ receipt of UC while 

employed. In FY 2013, the SIDES 

module providing information on 

monetary and potential charges to the 

employer’s account was implemented. 

This module allows SWAs to inform 

employers more quickly of potential 

charges to their accounts so that 

employers can appeal these charges 

expeditiously. If an employer appeals 

the charges, additional fact-finding of 

the claim can be conducted before 

additional benefits are paid to claimant 

thus preventing improper payments. 

SIDES is managed by the National 

Association of State Workforce Agencies 

(NASWA 6) which contracts with a 

vendor for its maintenance, support, 

and operations. The Department has 

provided specific funding to State 

consortia and SWAs for development, 

maintenance, and operation of SIDES. 

State consortia are groups of States 

collaborating to jointly establish a 

project team to oversee the design, 

development and implementation of an 

IT solution that will be shared across 

the States. The Department recently 

funded a consortium of States to oversee 

the development of new SIDES data 

exchange modules to allow SWAs to 

notify employers and TPAs of benefits 

charges to their accounts and of nonmonetary determinations. SWAs, 

participating in the SIDES consortia, 

identify and help prioritize new SIDES 

modules to be developed and direct 

these funds to NASWA for the 

development of these modules. All 

SWAs using SIDES modules provide 

administrative funding to NASWA for 

the continued operations of SIDES. 

The Department continues to facilitate 

the expansion and enhancement of the 

functionality and use of SIDES as a vital 

tool for SWAs for the prevention and 

detection of improper payments, and 

has provided supplemental funding to a 

State consortium for the development of 

additional data exchange modules. 

These modules include: 

• UC Benefit Charge Notices. This 

enhancement will make it possible for 

SWAs to provide employers notice of 

actual (as opposed to potential as 

discussed above) benefit charges to their 

accounts electronically rather than by 

paper and mail. This permits a quicker 

delivery and review by the employer 

and the ability to reply electronically if 

the charges are questionable. This 

expedited information exchange can 

detect potential improper payments 

earlier, particularly those related to 

identity theft and employees that return 

to work and continue to collect benefits. 

• Non-Monetary Determinations 

Exchange. This enhancement will notify 

employers electronically, rather than on 

paper, of SWA decisions on the 

eligibility of their former employees 

when issues arise about whether the 

employees quit or were terminated for 

cause. This will improve the timeliness 

of employer appeals and allow for 

quicker appeal decisions, halting 

improper payments faster if the 

employer prevails in the appeal. 

Additionally, several other data 

exchange modules are under 

consideration for the expansion of 

SIDES including one for the exchange of 

Appeals Decisions. The XML standard 

will apply to these additional data 

exchange modules as well. 

The final rule designates a data 

exchange standard under section 911(a), 

SSA, to apply to the SIDES data 

exchange modules and designates a 

standard under section 911(b), SSA, to 

govern reporting of information through 

SIDES data exchange modules. 

Major IT Modernization of UI Benefits 

and Tax Systems 

For the purpose of this regulation, a 

major IT Modernization of UI Benefits 

and Tax systems includes conversion, 

re-engineering, rewriting, or transferring 

of an existing system to a modernized 

framework such as transferring a 

process from mainframe operations to 

web-based operations, converting to 

modern computer programming 

languages, or upgrading software 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 33 / Wednesday, February 19, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 9407 

libraries, protocols, or hardware 

platform and infrastructure. As the 

Department provides funding to States 

to modernize their IT systems, the 

opportunity exists to use new data 

exchange standards that improve 

operations of the UI system as a whole 

and may further enable improved data 

exchanges with other States and Federal 

agencies. 

The Department facilitates SWAs’ 

efforts to modernize IT systems 

supporting their UI programs by 

providing funding for administration 

and operations, and appropriate 

technical assistance. While the FederalState structure of the UI program places 

primary responsibility for its 

administration on the States, the 

Department provides periodic 

supplemental funding opportunities for 

IT modernization activities. In addition, 

Congress periodically provides special 

distributions of administrative UI 

funding to States. 

Federal funds for UI modernization 

efforts come primarily from three 

sources: (1) supplemental budget funds 

that are designated by the Department 

for State IT modernization efforts, (2) 

State UI administration funding, and (3) 

special distributions. State 

administration funding primarily 

consists of State UI operations funds (an 

administrative grant awarded by the 

Department at the beginning of each 

fiscal year). Recent special distributions 

to States, under section 903, SSA, 

include those provided under the Job 

Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 

2002 funds (distributed under the Reed 

Act, a mechanism by which the Federal 

government transfers surplus UI funds 

to States) and American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act funds (an economic 

stimulus package enacted in February 

2009). Also, since 2009, the Department 

has provided supplemental funding to 

State consortia to develop jointly 

functional requirements and 

development of modernized UI IT 

Benefits and/or Tax systems. One of the 

requirements was that the technology 

tools developed use open source 

components to the extent feasible, be 

transferable, and be capable of being 

shared by multiple SWAs. The goal is 

for multiple SWAs to share common 

systems/tools that accommodate each 

SWA’s specific needs. Each of the 

consortia has its State leadership 

engaged in the process and soliciting 

vendors to assist with the system design 

and development efforts. 

This final rule requires that SWAs, 

when using Federal funds to modernize 

their UI systems, use XML as a data 

exchange standard when developing the 

functionality to interface with ICON, to 

implement SIDES and the reporting of 

information through SIDES. This 

requirement will potentially further 

accelerate State adoption of this 

standard for both functions. The 

Department strongly encourages SWAs, 

to the extent feasible, to begin 

conforming to the XML standard for any 

major UI IT modernization projects 

already underway. 

Effective Date 

Section 2104(b)(1) of the Act requires 

that a final rule to be issued ‘‘after 

public comment, within 24 months after 

such date of enactment.’’ Section 

2104(b)(2) of the Act requires that a 

proposed rule under section 911(b), 

SSA, will ‘‘become effective with 

respect to reports required in the first 

reporting period, after the effective date 

of the final rule referred to in paragraph 

(1) of this subsection.’’ 

Accordingly, this final rule requires 

that the data exchange standard for 

SIDES, under both sections 911(a) and 

(b), SSA, become effective 30 days after 

publication of this final rule. States 

implementing new data exchange 

modules after that date will use XML as 

the data exchange standard. 

Additionally, this final rule 

establishes September 30, 2018, as the 

date by which SWAs must comply with 

the data exchange standard for ICON, in 

accordance with section 911(a), SSA. 

This will allow States to begin 

implementing the standard as soon as 

practicable, while still providing 

enough advance time to account for the 

current technology capacity of States 

and the fact that many States will need 

to make substantial changes to their 

technology systems to implement XML 

for their ICON exchanges. 

Finally, the effective date of 

designation of XML as the data 

exchange standard for SIDES data 

exchange modules and for the real-time 

ICON applications, in accordance 

section 911(a), SSA, is 30 days after 

publication of this final rule. 

II. Summary of the Comments 

The Department received only one 

comment in response to the NPRM, 

which was from the Chairman and six 

Members of the Subcommittee on 

Human Resources, U.S. House of 

Representatives, Committee on Ways 

and Means. This comment generally 

supported the rulemaking; however, it 

also detailed two particular concerns 

about the NPRM. First, the comment 

encouraged the Department to continue 

to review program data beyond the 

specific data exchanges identified in 

this rule for standardization including 

data exchanges under Titles IX and XII. 

Second, the comment specifically 

indicated that the Department should 

explore the standardization of weekly 

UI claims data. Finally, the comment 

recognized the Department’s 

commitment to working with other 

Federal agencies to identify standards 

that could improve interagency data 

exchanges. The Department addresses 

these concerns in the following 

paragraphs. 

First, the commenters state that ‘‘as 

authors of this provision [the Act], we 

intended ‘any’ to cover all categories of 

information.’’ In other words, the 

commenters asserted the Department 

should interpret data exchange 

standardization to cover all categories of 

information. The comment states ‘‘we 

recognize that the effort to move a 

standardized system will require 

upfront investment of time and effort.’’ 

The comment also noted that ‘‘[t]his is 

an iterative process and we look forward 

to working together to achieve success.’’ 

The Department appreciates that the 

commenters recognize that extending 

data exchange standardization to all 

types of reporting and information data 

exchanges is an enormous effort that 

takes time; it is an iterative and 

evolutionary process. The Department 

recognizes that the statutory language 

regarding ‘‘any’’ category of information 

could be interpreted as the commenters 

assert. The language is ambiguous and 

therefore the Department interpreted it 

in a manner to make the 

implementation of the statute feasible. 

The Department will continue to review 

all UI reporting and determine the 

application of appropriate data 

exchange standards, where feasible. In 

the UI program, this process must be 

accompanied by considerable 

consultation and partnership from the 

States. As we noted in the NPRM, 78 FR 

12656, Feb. 25, 2013, States vary widely 

in their IT infrastructure, with many 

States continuing to operate antiquated 

and inflexible systems. In addition, the 

IT infrastructure in States has been 

significantly challenged over the past 

several years due to the complexity of 

new Federal UI programs such as the 

Emergency Unemployment 

Compensation program, and more 

recently as a result of sequestration. The 

fact of this varying State IT capacity 

requires consideration of priorities, 

funding availability, and timing 

constraints when it comes to data 

exchange standardization. 

The Department addresses, in this 

rule the data exchanges that are most 

immediately well-positioned to 

facilitate implementation of new data 

exchange standardization. For example, 

the ICON network has completed the 


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implementation of the XML data 

exchange for the ‘‘real time’’ 

applications that are used by SWAs. The 

Department wants to encourage SWAs 

to transition to the XML data exchange 

standards for these ‘‘real time’’ 

applications and these regulations 

provide such an opportunity. In 

addition, the SIDES data exchange tool 

is a recent development and SWAs are 

in the process of adopting this tool to 

facilitate the exchange of information 

between SWAs and employers and third 

party administrators. Although the 

designation of a XML standard has 

started with these specific data 

exchanges, the Department will 

continue to review other data 

exchanges, and reporting requirements 

for designation of data exchange 

standards, where feasible. In a May 10, 

2013, meeting between the Department 

and staff members of the House 

Subcommittee on Human Resources, the 

committee staff indicated that they were 

not requesting any specific change to 

the rule based on this explanation. They 

asked, and the Department agreed, that 

it would continue to keep the 

Committee informed of new 

opportunities to develop data exchange 

standards between SWAs and the 

Department and also between the 

Department and other Federal agencies. 

The comment also noted that the 

exchanges that deal with the issue of 

Unemployment Trust Fund reporting 

under Titles IX and XII could also 

benefit from data exchange 

standardization. Most of the data 

systems on Unemployment Trust Fund 

reporting are operated by the U.S. 

Department of Treasury (Treasury). The 

Department will work with Treasury to 

explore opportunities for standardizing 

these data exchanges and reporting 

under Titles IX and XII. 

While developing this rule for data 

exchange standards, the Department 

determined that it is neither feasible nor 

practicable to immediately set standards 

for all reports under the three titles 

listed in Section 911(b), SSA. In the 

NPRM, the Department indicated that 

imposing data exchange standards for 

certain reporting for the UI program 

would be counter-productive and would 

interfere with the Department’s ability 

to use and analyze the data. For 

example, State UI agencies currently 

send data, such as weekly UI claims 

data, to the Department in a format that 

enables the Department to store the data 

in a relational database for purposes of 

analysis and performance management. 

The Department noted that if the data 

were instead required to be received in 

XML format, pre-processing of the data 

would be required to store this 

information within a relational 

database, thus adding a layer of 

complexity for the analytical software. 

That approach would result in 

unnecessary inefficiency and there 

would be no benefit to any user of the 

data. 

The comment further stated that 

while the commenters agreed with the 

Department’s effort to ‘‘avoid 

unnecessary inefficiencies,’’ they do not 

agree with the Department’s ‘‘assertion 

that there would be no long term benefit 

gained from including weekly UI claims 

data in the data exchange 

standardization effort.’’ 

The Department acknowledges that 

presenting the data with consistent 

identification codes and formatting is 

desirable. The Department plans to 

conduct a feasibility study on 

consolidating the State UI reporting 

infrastructure within the Department’s 

National Office. This process will 

provide opportunities for updating the 

format and standards by which these 

reports are presented to users of the 

data. With this pending consolidation 

project, the Department will continue to 

explore how best to present the data to 

facilitate greater usability, transferability 

and transparency. As an interim 

measure, the Department, where 

feasible, intends to prioritize the 

translation and publication of data, 

including weekly claims data, in an 

XML format to enable users to better 

understand the data elements and 

definitions. These are actions that the 

Department can take without any 

further rule making because it does not 

need involvement by external entities. 

Finally, the comment supported the 

Department’s commitment to 

interagency coordination ‘‘to identify 

standards that could be applied to 

improve interagency data exchanges and 

issue additional regulations.’’ 

The comment also stated that ‘‘[the 

Subcommittee] look[s] forward to 

working together to achieve success’’ in 

this respect. The Department 

appreciates the interest shown by the 

Committee and intends to continue to 

work closely with all stakeholders, 

including the Committee and all 

Members of Congress, as well as the 

States, OMB, and other Federal agencies 

in pursuing opportunities for data 

exchange standardization. The 

Department agrees with the Committee 

on the potential benefits for data 

exchange standardization. 

The Department also notes that if the 

goal for the UI program and other 

Federal programs is to advance data 

exchange standardization as quickly as 

feasible, it is critical that agencies have 

flexibility to determine the data 

exchanges that will produce the best 

results and the timing for 

implementation based on issues such as 

capacity and cost. In addition, the 

Department also notes that requiring 

agencies to implement data exchange 

standards through regulations is 

extremely cumbersome and may 

actually inhibit agencies’ agility to 

respond to advances in technology 

concerning standardization. The 

Department is willing to work with the 

Committee to identify alternatives to 

accelerate data exchange 

standardization in other areas. 

Based on the conversation with 

Committee staff on May 10, 2013, the 

Department is making no changes to the 

regulation as a result of this comment. 

III. Section-by-Section Review 

Definitions (§ 619.1) 

This section establishes definitions of 

terms used in this rule. Most are selfexplanatory; however, of particular note 

is paragraph (c), which defines XML, 

the standard designated in this rule to 

use for data exchange. XML data are 

stored in plain text format that is both 

human-readable and machine-readable 

and provides for a software- and 

hardware-independent method of 

exchanging data over incompatible 

applications or systems over the 

internet. This definition includes any 

future upgrades, iterations, or releases of 

XML-based language. A definition for 

the NASWA was included in the NPRM 

as part of the proposed rule. Since this 

term is not included in this regulation, 

the proposed definition has been 

deleted in this final rule. This deletion 

of the definition of NASWA is the only 

change made to the final rule when 

compared to the proposed rule in the 

NPRM. 

Data Exchange Standardization for 

ICON (§ 619.2) 

Paragraph (a) designates XML as the 

data exchange standard for the real-time 

ICON applications. These applications 

are: Interstate Wages and Benefits 

Inquiries/Responses; Withdrawn/

Invalid Claims; and State Identification 

Inquiry. These applications, used by 

States, are currently supported by ICON 

in real-time using two data exchange 

formats—Extended Binary Coded 

Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC) and 

Web Services Description Language 

(WSDL), which is a XML-based 

language. As stated previously, the 

Department has selected this sub-set of 

the applications supported on ICON for 

applying a data exchange standard 

because they represent the applications 

which both ICON and States currently 


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have capacity to implement. The 

Department will continue to consider 

ways to apply data exchange standards 

to the other ICON functions, but the 

technology solutions are currently not 

available. It may be over five years 

before these new technology solutions 

can be effectively applied in the ICON 

environment. 

Paragraph (b) requires that all SWAs 

using real-time ICON applications 

conform to the XML data exchange 

standard no later than September 30, 

2018. The rule provides that a SWA may 

request an extension of this deadline if 

it demonstrates that resources are not 

available to meet the requirements. The 

request must be submitted to the 

Administrator of the Office of 

Unemployment Insurance no later than 

6 months before the deadline, and the 

request will be approved or denied 

within 30 days. 

ICON is funded by a cooperative 

agreement between the Department and 

the State of Maryland. The Maryland 

Department of Labor, Licensing and 

Regulation acts as the Department’s 

agent to contract with a vendor for the 

maintenance, support, and operation of 

ICON. Beginning in FY 2007, the 

Department facilitated and later 

provided funding for the conversion of 

data exchange formats from EBCDIC to 

WSDL. EBCDIC is a format specifically 

used for mainframes and is not an 

interoperable standard. However, the 

migration of SWAs from EBCDIC to 

WSDL is still in its infancy requiring 

ICON to support a dual environment 

(Web Services and Mainframe). 

A few SWAs currently are in the 

process of implementing some of the 

modernized, XML-based real-time 

applications in conjunction with their 

efforts to modernize their IT systems or 

replace outdated systems. The goal of 

this paragraph is to accelerate State 

adoption of XML-based real time 

applications in order to eventually 

eliminate the need for ICON to manage 

mainframe applications in addition to 

the XML-based applications. 

The Department will continue to 

support SWAs’ transition to modernized 

XML-based real-time ICON applications 

and expects that the data exchange 

standard in this regulation will 

accelerate SWAs’ adoption of the XML 

exchange standard. The development of 

a single environment will result in 

improved efficiencies and cost savings 

and allow the Department to more 

effectively manage the development of 

future data exchanges and maintenance 

of resources. 

Data Exchange Standardization for 

SIDES (§ 619.3) 

Paragraph (a) designates XML as the 

data exchange standard for SIDES. 

Paragraph (b) requires that this standard 

apply to any Federally-funded SIDES 

consortium, and any future agents of the 

Department providing vendor services 

for the development, maintenance, 

support and operations of the SIDES. 

Paragraph (c) designates XML as the 

data exchange standard to govern the 

reporting of information through the 

SIDES data exchange modules. 

Paragraph (d) denotes when the 

standard set in paragraph (c) becomes 

effective. 

SIDES uses Web services and the 

XML data format for the information 

exchange between the SWAs and 

employers. The Department is requiring 

that all SIDES exchanges (current and 

future), which are developed in whole 

or part with Department funds, continue 

to conform to the XML data exchange 

standard. Additionally, as States, 

employers, and TPAs chose to 

implement SIDES or new data exchange 

modules of SIDES, they must conform to 

this data exchange standard by 

application design. 

SIDES offers two options for 

implementation for SWAs and 

employers: SIDES web services, and 

SIDES E-Response. Both systems are 

designed to meet the unique needs of 

businesses, large and small. For 

employers with a limited number of UC 

claims, the SIDES E-Response Web site 

provides an easy and efficient way to 

respond to information requests from 

SWAs. For employers and TPAs that 

handle a large volume of UC claims 

information requests, SIDES web 

services provides an automated, 

computer-to-computer interface 

between employers’ and TPAs’ IT 

systems and SWA networks. 

Data Exchange Standardization for the 

UI Benefits and Tax Systems (§ 619.4) 

Paragraph (a) designates XML as the 

data exchange standard for the real-time 

ICON applications and SIDES data 

exchange modules associated with 

major IT modernization projects to 

upgrade UI Benefits and Tax Systems by 

SWAs using Federal funds. This 

standard will improve the 

interoperability of State, Federal, and 

employer systems that collect and 

exchange information for UI 

administrative purposes. Linking data 

between these systems at the State level 

will allow for better service delivery and 

faster eligibility determinations, and 

should facilitate program integrity 

efforts. 

Paragraph (b) requires that, beginning 

on the effective date of this regulation, 

major IT modernization efforts funded 

by the Department must conform to the 

XML data exchange standard for the 

implementation of the real-time ICON 

applications and the SIDES exchange 

modules. 

IV. Administrative Information 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563: 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This rule 

has been designated a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ because, although not 

economically significant under section 

3(f) of Executive Order 12866, it raises 

novel issues of law and policy. The key 

policy being implemented in this rule is 

the designation of XML as the data 

exchange standard for three categories 

of information: real-time applications on 

ICON; SIDES; and implementation of 

the XML standard identified for ICON 

and SIDES in major IT modernization 

projects to upgrade UI Benefits and Tax 

systems by SWAs using Federal funds. 

Therefore, the Department has 

submitted this final rule to OMB for 

review. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The purposes of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq., include minimizing the 

paperwork burden on affected entities. 

The PRA requires certain actions before 

an agency can adopt or revise a 

collection of information, including 

publishing a summary of the collection 

of information and a brief description of 

the need for and proposed use of the 

information. A Federal agency may not 

conduct or sponsor a collection of 

information, unless it is approved by 

OMB under the PRA, and displays a 

currently valid OMB control number, 

and the public is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. Also, notwithstanding 

any other provisions of law, no person 

shall be subject to penalty for failing to 

comply with a collection of information 

if the collection of information does not 


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display a currently valid OMB control 

number (44 U.S.C. 3512). 

While this final rule imposes no new 

information collections, §§ 619.2–619.4 

would impose formatting requirements 

for the data exchanges of various UI 

applications that may impose a burden 

under the PRA. The Department 

submitted an information collection 

request (ICR) to the OMB to obtain PRA 

approval for the information collection 

formatting requirements contained in 

the NPRM. On May 16, 2013, consistent 

with regulations 5 CFR 1320.11(c), the 

OMB issued a Notice of Action 

assigning control number 1205–0510 to 

the ICR. The OMB did not pre-approve 

the formatting requirements at that time; 

instead, the Department was to resubmit 

the ICR for approval at the final rule 

stage, after reviewing and responding to 

any public comments. The substance of 

the public comment and the 

Departmental response appears earlier 

in this preamble. The public comment 

did not address the PRA burden 

estimates in the NPRM. Concurrent with 

publication of this final rule, the 

Department is resubmitting the request 

to the OMB for PRA approval. ETA will 

publish a Notice in the Federal Register 

to announce any final OMB decision on 

that request. 

The burden for the information 

collection provisions of this final rule 

can be summarized as follows: 

Agency: DOL–ETA. 

Title of Collection: Federal-State 

Unemployment Insurance Program Data 

Exchange Standardization. 

OMB ICR Reference Number Control 

Number: 1205–0510. 

Affected Public: State Governments. 

Total Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 53. 

Total Estimated Number of 

Responses: 53. 

Total Estimated Annual Burden 

Hours: 6,360. 

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs 

Burden: $1,057,329. 

Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

Section 6 of Executive Order 13132 

requires Federal agencies to consult 

with State entities when a regulation or 

policy may have a substantial direct 

effect on the States or the relationship 

between the National Government and 

the States, or the distribution of power 

and responsibilities among the various 

levels of government, within the 

meaning of the Executive Order. 

Section 3(b) of the Executive Order 

further provides that Federal agencies 

must implement regulations that have a 

substantial direct effect only if statutory 

authority permits the regulation and it 

is of national significance. This final 

rule is specifically required by the 

Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 

Creation Act of 2012. 

This rule does not have a substantial 

direct effect on the current nature of the 

relationship between the National 

Government and the States, or the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of Government, within the 

meaning of the Executive Order. The 

Department is exercising its existing 

authority to interpret Federal statutes 

with regard to States’ administration of 

UI programs. In the Federal-State UI 

system, States have a great deal of 

flexibility to design their UC laws and 

operations as long as they comply with 

the broad Federal requirements in 

FUTA and the SSA. This rule 

implements a new statutory requirement 

for a uniform data exchange and 

reporting standard and thus is no 

different from other UC regulations that 

interpret Federal law as it applies to 

State requirements. It simply sets a new 

standard for data exchanges of 

information used in the administration 

of the UI program under Title III of the 

SSA. The Department consulted with 

NASWA’s Information Technology 

Support Center and NASWA’s UI 

Committee to discuss the impacts of this 

rule and identify State application 

interfaces which will benefit by the 

implementation of the XML data 

exchange standard. NASWA agreed 

with the Department’s approach to 

implement uniform data exchange 

standards in areas already identified as 

valuable to the UI system and for 

applications developed collaboratively 

with the States. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

This regulatory action has been 

reviewed in accordance with the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995. Under the Act, a Federal agency 

must determine whether a regulation 

proposes a Federal mandate that would 

result in the increased expenditures by 

State, local, or tribal governments, in the 

aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100 million or more in any single year. 

The Department has determined this 

rule does not include any Federal 

mandate that may result in increased 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments in the aggregate of more 

than $100 million, or increased 

expenditures by the private sector of 

more than $100 million. Most if not all 

of the costs of implementing this 

regulation will be covered by Federal 

funding. 

Plain Language 

The Department drafted this final rule 

in plain language. 

Effect on Family Life 

The Department certifies that this 

final rule has been assessed under 

section 654 of the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 

enacted as part of the Omnibus 

Consolidated and Emergency 

Supplemental Appropriations Act of 

1999 (Pub. L. 105–277, 12 Stat. 2681) for 

its effect on family well-being. This 

provision will not adversely affect the 

well-being of the nation’s families. 

Therefore, the Department certifies that 

this rule does not adversely impact 

family well-being as discussed under 

section 654 of the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act of 

1999. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act/Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

The Department has notified the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business 

Administration, and made the 

certification according to the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) at 5 U.S.C. 605(b), 

that this final rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Under the RFA, no regulatory flexibility 

analysis is required where the rule ‘‘will 

not . . . have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities.’’ 5 U.S.C. 605(b). A small entity 

is defined as a small business, small 

not-for-profit organization, or small 

governmental jurisdiction. 5 U.S.C. 

601(3)–(5). 

This final rule requires 

implementation of a data exchange 

standard that would be used in SIDES 

and ICON. ICON is used only by States 

and Federal entities, neither of which 

qualifies as a small entity under the 

RFA. SIDES, however, is used by States 

and by employers, including TPAs, in 

the private sector. However, because 

SIDES already uses an XML-based 

interface, there is no incremental cost to 

current users. Furthermore, while 

additional employers and TPAs may 

adopt SIDES in the future, this rule does 

not require them to do so, nor does this 

rule affect their costs if they did. 

Consequently, this rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, 

and a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is 

not required under the RFA. 

In addition, this rule does not require 

review by the Congress under the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 because it will not 


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result in (1) an annual effect on the 

economy of $100,000,000 or more; (2) a 

major increase in costs or prices for 

consumers, individual industries, 

Federal, State, or local government 

agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) 

significant adverse effects on 

competition, employment, investment, 

productivity, innovation, or on the 

ability of United States-based 

enterprises to compete with foreignbased enterprises in domestic and 

export markets. 

As discussed above, the most 

significant effect of this final rule will 

be to accelerate action (e.g., the 

adoption of the real-time XML-based 

ICON applications) that the Department 

expects to occur even in the absence of 

this rule. The noteworthy cost of the 

final rule is the cost of this acceleration. 

That is, the rule would change the 

timing—and therefore the present 

value—of nominal costs that would 

have been incurred even in the absence 

of the rule. These costs will be borne by 

the State and Federal governments, not 

by small entities. 

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 619 

Labor, Unemployment Compensation. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Department amends 20 

CFR chapter V to add part 619 as set 

forth below: 

PART 619—UNEMPLOYMENT 

COMPENSATION DATA EXCHANGE 

STANDARDIZATION FOR IMPROVED 

INTEROPERABILITY 

Sec. 

619.1 Definitions. 

619.2 Data exchange standardization for 

ICON. 

619.3 Data exchange standardization for 

SIDES. 

619.4 Data exchange standardization for the 

UI Benefits and Tax Systems. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1111; Section 2104(b) 

of Pub. L. 112–96; 42 U.S.C. 1302(a). 

§ 619.1 Definitions. 

As used in this part— 

Administrator of the Office of 

Unemployment Insurance means the 

Department’s Employment and Training 

Administration’s chief administrative 

officer directly responsible for the 

operation of the Unemployment 

Insurance (UI) program and oversight of 

the Unemployment Compensation (UC) 

program and UC laws. 

Department means the United States 

Department of Labor. 

eXtensible Markup Language or XML 

means a markup language that defines a 

set of rules for encoding documents in 

a format designed to structure, store and 

transport data between applications or 

systems over the Internet. This term 

includes any future upgrades, iterations, 

or releases of XML-based language. 

Federal funds or Federally-funded 

means funds that include, but are not 

limited to: 

(1) Supplemental budget funds that 

are designated by the Department for 

State IT modernization efforts; 

(2) General State UI administration 

funding for State program operations (an 

administrative grant issued by the 

Department at the beginning of each 

fiscal year); and 

(3) Special UI funding distributions. 

Interstate Connection Network or 

ICON means a secure multi-purpose 

telecommunications network that 

supports the transfer of data among the 

SWAs. 

Interstate Wages and Benefits 

Inquiries/Responses means the ICON 

application which supports online 

transmission of interstate wages and 

benefits inquiries and responses 

between SWAs. 

Major IT Modernization Project means 

conversion, re-engineering, rewriting, or 

transferring of an existing system to a 

modernized framework such as 

transferring a process from mainframe 

operations to Web-based operations, 

converting to modern computer 

programming languages, or upgrading 

software libraries, protocols, or 

hardware platform and infrastructure. 

These are projects to upgrade UI 

Benefits and Tax Systems by SWAs 

using Federal funds. 

State or States refers to, individually 

or collectively, the 50 States of the 

United States of America, the District of 

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

Rico, and the United States Virgin 

Islands. 

State Identification Inquiry means the 

ICON application which allows SWAs 

to inquire about wages reported to other 

SWAs by Social Security Number. 

State Information Data Exchange 

System or SIDES means an automated 

response system used by SWAs to 

collect claim-related information from 

employers and third-party 

administrators. 

State unemployment compensation 

law or UC law means the law of a State 

approved under Section 3304(a) of the 

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 

U.S.C. 3304(a)). 

State Workforce Agency or SWA 

means the agency of the State charged 

with the administration of the State’s 

Unemployment Compensation (UC) law. 

Unemployment compensation or UC 

means cash benefits payable to 

individuals with respect to their 

unemployment, as defined in 26 U.S.C. 

3306(h). 

Unemployment Insurance or UI 

means the Federal-State system and 

operations administering and 

implementing UC law. 

Withdrawn/Invalid Claims means the 

ICON application which allows for the 

posting and viewing of withdrawn or 

invalid claim information for SWAs. 

§ 619.2 Data exchange standardization for 

ICON. 

(a) XML is the data exchange standard 

for the real-time ICON applications. 

These applications are: Interstate Wages 

and Benefits Inquiries/Responses; 

Withdrawn/Invalid Claims; and State 

Identification Inquiry. 

(b) All SWAs using real-time ICON 

applications must comply with this 

XML data exchange standard no later 

than September 30, 2018. A SWA may 

request an extension of this deadline if 

it demonstrates that resources are not 

available to meet this requirement. 

These requests must be submitted in 

writing to the Administrator of the 

Office of Unemployment Insurance no 

later than 6 months before the deadline; 

requests will be approved or denied 

within 30 days. 

§ 619.3 Data exchange standardization for 

SIDES. 

(a) XML is the data exchange standard 

for SIDES. 

(b) This standard applies to any 

Federally-funded SIDES consortium, 

and any future agents of the Department 

providing vendor services for the 

development, maintenance, support, 

and operations of the SIDES, and for any 

State that adopts SIDES. A SIDES 

consortium involves a group of two or 

more States jointly establishing a project 

team to oversee the design, 

development, and implementation of a 

new SIDES data exchange module. As 

States implement SIDES or new data 

exchange modules of SIDES, they must 

conform to this data exchange standard 

by application design. 

(c) XML is designated as the data 

exchange standard to govern the 

reporting of information through SIDES 

data exchange modules. The regulation 

applies to current SIDES data exchange 

modules and any future SIDES data 

exchange modules developed with 

Federal funds. 

(d) The standard designated in 

paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this 

section is effective March 21, 2014. 

§ 619.4 Data exchange standardization for 

the UI Benefits and Tax Systems. 

(a) XML is the data exchange standard 

for the real time ICON applications set 

out in § 619.2 and for the SIDES 

exchanges set out in § 619.3 associated 

with major IT modernization projects, to 


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9412 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 33 / Wednesday, February 19, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

upgrade UI Benefits and Tax Systems by 

SWAs using Federal funds. 

(b) The standard designated in 

paragraph (a) of this section is effective 

March 21, 2014. 

Eric M. Seleznow, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Employment and 

Training Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2014–03496 Filed 2–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

21 CFR Parts 106 and 107 

[Docket No. FDA–1995–N–0063 (formerly 

95N–0309)] 

RIN 0910–AF27 

Current Good Manufacturing Practices, 

Quality Control Procedures, Quality 

Factors, Notification Requirements, 

and Records and Reports, for Infant 

Formula; Correction 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for 

comments; correction. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) is correcting a 

document that appeared in the Federal 

Register of February 10, 2014. The 

document revised our infant formula 

regulations to establish requirements for 

current good manufacturing practices, 

including audits; to establish 

requirements for quality factors; and to 

amend FDA’s quality control 

procedures, notification, and record and 

reporting requirements for infant 

formula. FDA took the action to improve 

the protection of infants who consume 

infant formula products. The document 

was published with an incorrect docket 

number. This document corrects that 

error. 

DATES: Effective Date: This correction is 

effective February 19, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joyce Strong, Office of Policy, Food and 

Drug Administration, 10903 New 

Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 32, rm. 3208, 

Silver Spring, MD 20993, 301–796– 

9148. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In FR Doc. 

2014–02148, appearing on page 7934 in 

the Federal Register of February 10, 

2014 (79 FR 7934), the following 

corrections are made: 

1. On page 7934, ‘‘FDA–1995–N– 

0036’’ is corrected to read ‘‘FDA–1995– 

N–0063’’ each time it appears. 

2. On page 8055, in the second 

column, ‘‘FDA–1995–N–0036’’ is 

corrected to read ‘‘FDA–1995–N–0063’’. 

3. On page 8058, in the third column, 

‘‘FDA–1995–N–0036’’ is corrected to 

read ‘‘FDA–1995–N–0063’’. 

Dated: February 13, 2014. 

Leslie Kux, 

Assistant Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2014–03588 Filed 2–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

21 CFR Part 800 

[Docket No. FDA–1977–N–0222] 

Administrative Detention; Corrections 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Final rule; correcting 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) published a 

document in the Federal Register on 

Friday, March 9, 1979 (44 FR 13239). 

The document established 

administrative detention procedures for 

devices intended for human use 

believed to be adulterated or 

misbranded. The document was 

published with a citation in the first 

column on page 13240 that 

subsequently was changed by the 

Nutrition Labeling and Education Act 

Amendments of 1993. In addition, the 

document was published with one 

typographical error in the first column 

on page 13241. This document corrects 

these errors. 

DATES: This correction is effective 

February 19, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jan 

B. Welch, Center for Devices and 

Radiological Health, Food and Drug 

Administration, 10903 New Hampshire 

Ave., Bldg. 66, Rm. 3412, 301–796– 

5776, FAX: 301–847–8136, jan.welch@

fda.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FDA is 

correcting a final rule that appeared in 

the Federal Register on Friday, March 9, 

1979 (44 FR 13239). The final rule 

established administrative detention 

procedures for devices intended for 

human use believed to be adulterated or 

misbranded. The document was 

published with a citation to section 

201(y) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(y)) (the 

FD&C Act) in the first column on page 

13240 (§ 800.55(g)(1) (21 CFR 

800.55(g)(1)) that subsequently was 

changed to section 201(x) of the FD&C 

Act by section 3(b) of the Nutrition 

Labeling and Education Act 

Amendments of 1993 (Pub. L. 103–80). 

In addition, the document was 

published with one typographical error 

in the first column on page 13241 

(§ 800.55(k)(1)) in which the word ‘‘is’’ 

should have been the word ‘‘in’’. This 

document updates the statutory 

reference in § 800.55(g)(1) and corrects 

the typographical error in § 800.55(k)(1). 

Publication of this rule constitutes 

final action under the Administrative 

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553). This 

amendment to the regulations provides 

only a technical change and corrects a 

nonsubstantive error. FDA therefore, for 

good cause, finds under 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B) that notice and public 

comment are unnecessary, and under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3) that the rule can 

become effective upon publication. 

FDA has determined under 21 CFR 

25.30(i) that this final rule is of a type 

that, as a class, does not individually or 

cumulatively have a significant effect on 

the human environment. Therefore, 

neither an environmental assessment 

nor an environmental impact statement 

is required. 

This final rule contains information 

collection provisions that are subject to 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501– 

3520). The collections of information in 

§ 800.55 have been approved under 

OMB control number 0910–0114, which 

expires April 30, 2016. 

List of Subjects in 21 CFR Part 800 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; Medical devices; 

Ophthalmic goods and services; 

Packaging and containers; Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Therefore, under the Federal Food, 

Drug, and Cosmetic Act and under 

authority delegated to the Commissioner 

of Food and Drugs, 21 CFR Part 800 is 

amended as follows: 

PART 800—GENERAL 

■ 1. The authority citation for 21 CFR 

Part 800 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321, 334, 351, 352, 

355, 360e, 360i, 360k, 361, 362, 371. 

■ 2. In § 800.55, revise paragraph (g)(1) 

and the first sentence of paragraph (k) 

to read as follows: 

§ 800.55 Administrative detention. 

* * * * * 

(g) Appeal of a detention order. (1) A 

person who would be entitled to claim 


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